The Duquesne Dukes, who have not lost a game since Nov. 4, are bringing their high-powered offense to Bird Arena tonight and Saturday night.
After clinching the Central States Collegiate Hockey League regular season title, the Ohio club hockey team (22-5-2, 16-2 CSCHL) is glad to be home for a series with the Dukes.
Despite thoughts of the postseason in the back of their minds, the Ohio players still have six games remaining.
Duquesne (15-5-1, 13-3 Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association) is ranked No. 10 in the nation. The Dukes are also in the middle of an 11-game winning streak.
Ohio coach Dan Morris does not think the team needs to prepare differently for the red-hot Dukes.
We play in a tough league with tough games every week
Morris said. We treat this weekend no differently than any other weekend.
During the winning streak, the Dukes have outscored their opponents 82-24. Duquesne has been on the better end of some uneven games, beating Villanova 13-1 in November and Rutgers 17-1 two weekends ago.
Despite the high scores Duquesne has amassed, Morris said he does not think the Dukes have faced a defense like his Bobcats.
We're getting some players back Morris said. Travis Preble is coming back after his ear injury and Dave Moyer will be back after his rib injury. Those guys are both big
physical guys that will help out our defense.
Ohio captain and defensemen Jordan Levy is happy to get Preble and Moyer back. Levy said he thinks that Preble is the best defensemen on the team.
Getting (Preble) is good because he is real good for our power play
Levy said. (Moyer) is just another familiar guy that we're all used to be playing with. Having those guys on the ice will be nice.
The Ohio players had a lot to be happy about this past weekend as they clinched the CSCHL championship and a national tournament bid. However, some of the players felt disrespected by the latest national rankings.
Ohio was ranked No. 3 in last week's poll, one spot lower than the previous poll that came out Dec. 16. Penn State took the No. 1 spot followed by Rhode Island, Ohio and then Illinois.
The top four did not change at all since the last rankings. The Illini took the biggest drop as they were swept on consecutive weekends by Ohio and Penn State.
Forward Paul Warriner said that he does not care about the ranking at this point in the season.
We know that we're going to be (in the American Collegiate Hockey Association tournament)
Warriner said. Even if you're No. 16 you have a shot at the championship. Everyone has to win four games. If we roll through the rest of the season then maybe we'll end up No. 1 going into the tournament.
The puck drops at 7:30 tonight and Saturday night in Bird Arena.
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Corey Ryan
